If a patient
has strep throat, the doctor will probably give him or her
medicine called antibiotics. These kill the strep bacteria.
In rare cases, untreated strep can cause arthritis or heart
problems from a disease called rheumatic fever.
Most of
the time kids get the medicine they need and recover from
strep throat very quickly. After taking the medicine for twenty-four
hours, you will feel a lot better and will no longer be contagious.
However, it is really important to take all ten days of the
medicine to make sure you have treated the infection.
Occurence
Strep
throat is spread when healthy people come into contact with
people who have it. When a person with strep throat sneezes
or blows his or her nose and you are close by, or if you share
the same forks, spoons, or straws, the bacteria can spread
to you.
If you
get strep throat, you will start to feel sick within five
days after you have been around the person who gave it to
you.
Doctor's Treatment
Your doctor
will look into your mouth to see if your throat is red and
your tonsils are swollen and covered with white or yellow
spots. He or she will also look for small red spots on the
roof of your mouth. Most of the time, strep will give you
a sore throat, headache, stomach ache, and fever.
To prove
that what you have is strep throat, your doctor may do one
or two tests. First he or she can do a rapid strep test to
check for strep bacteria. He or she will rub a cotton swab
over the back of your throat. With this test, the doctor may
be able to find out in less than an hour if you have strep
throat.
If the
first test does not prove anything, then your doctor may do
a longer test called a throat culture. A swab from your throat
will then be rubbed on a special dish and the dish will be
left to sit for two nights. If you have strep throat, streptococci
bacteria will usually grow in the dish within the next a day
or two.
Person With A Strep Throat
If you
have strep throat, your doctor will give you an antibiotic,
a medicine that kills bacteria. Usually the antibiotic used
for strep throat is a form of penicillin. You will take penicillin
as a pill, a liquid, or a shot.
To make
sure the bacteria go away completely and do not spread to
other parts of your body, you must finish all of the medicine.
Your doctor will have you take the pills or liquid for about
a week.
It is
best to avoid spicy and acidic foods, such as orange juice,
because they could irritate your tender throat.
Your doctor
will tell you to stay home until you have been taking the
antibiotic for at least a day. This way, you will not spread
the bacteria to others.
Prevention
If someone
in your house has strep throat, you might get it. But you
can take these steps to prevent it:
